Local Gothic

Local Gothic is inspired by the moveable lettering of outdoor signs in America. Its individual characters look ordinary, but in combination they appear random and irregular, giving a distressed and unusual appearance. Designed by Christian Schwartz while he was studying graphic design in the late 1990s, Local Gothic gives a surprising and uneven texture that can breathe life into both print and web projects. The characters are loosely based on the four most ubiquitous sans serifs in America: Helvetica, Futura, Franklin Gothic, and Alternate Gothic No. 2. Tal Leming developed innovative OpenType code, using theories based on quantum mechanics, to mix the mismatched letters in a way that feels truly random.